The present invention relates to accessory equipment for golfers, and more particularly, to an improved foldable seat assembly for a golf bag cart which may be readily attached to a conventional golf bag cart and which, when unfolded, affords a stable, comfortable seat.
During the last decade or so, golf has become an increasingly popular participatory sport in this and other countries. To facilitate their enjoyment of the game, more and more golfers are using golf bag carts, rather than caddies, to transport their golf bags around the golf course. Generally, golf bag carts have included a main frame assembly adapted to have one or more golf bags secured thereto and mounted on a pair of laterally spaced wheels. The upper end of the main frame assembly usually includes a handle that may be gripped by the golfer so that the golf bag cart may be either pulled or pushed by the golfer. When not being moved, most golf carts may be disposed in a generally vertically upright position wherein the wheels and the lower ends of the main frame assembly and the carried golf bag engage or are in contact with the ground.
Due to the amount of walking and exercise involved, golfers oftentimes tend to become tired while out on the course. Moreover, because of the increased popularity of golf, golfers frequently have to stand and wait between shots. Usually the golf course has no facilities, other than the ground, upon which the golfer may sit and rest during these periods of inactivity or otherwise. It has been proposed in the past to mount collapsible or foldable seats on the golf bag carts in order to provide a convenient seat for a golfer while he is out on the course and away from the clubhouse facilities. These prior proposed seats were generally characterized by having the capability of being moved from a position wherein they afford a seat to one wherein the seat is collapsed or folded and theoretically at least, does not interfere with the otherwise normal usage of the golf bag cart. These prior proposed golf cart seats have tended to employ relatively complex mechanisms to accomplish this folding and unfolding and, as a result, have been quite expensive to manufacture and assemble and have significantly increased the overall weight of the golf bag cart. Furthermore, because of the complexity of the components of the seat, the seats also tended to become quite bulky so that even when disposed in their collapsed or folded position, they have, in practice, obstructed or at least hindered normal usage of the golf bag. These disadvantages, of course, have reduced the attractiveness of the prior proposed golf cart seats to golfers.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved golf bag cart seat assembly which overcomes the aforementioned problems of the prior proposed golf bag cart seats, which incorporates relatively simple components to afford a comfortable, sturdy seat for the golfer and which may be attached to existing conventional golf bag carts without interfering with the primary purpose of the golf bag cart, i.e. the carrying or transportation of one or more golf bags. From a marketing standpoint, my improved golf bag cart seat assembly has the commercially attractive advantages of being lightweight, of permitting facile attachment to conventional golf bag carts and of being capable of being folded completely out of the way so as to afford no obstruction or hindrance, when in its folded position, to the normal usage of the golf bag cart and the carried golf bag.
More specifically, my improved golf bag cart seat assembly comprises a seat frame adapted to be quickly and easily mounted on the main frame assembly of a golf bag cart so that the seat frome is disposed in a generally horizontal plane. The seat frame includes a tubular member that encircles the golf bag being carried or transported by the cart. The portion of the tubular member remote from the point of attachment between the seat frame and the main frame assembly extends beyond the lower ends of the main frame assembly and carried golf bag and has a seat member pivotably attached thereto so that the seat member may be moved between a generally horizontal position and a generally vertical position.
A foldable leg assembly is secured to the undersurface of the seat member at a point remote from the point of attachment between the seat frame and the seat member. The leg assembly includes upper and lower leg portions which are pivotably innerconnected and which may be arranged in a first or unfolded position wherein the upper and lower leg portions are vertically aligned and wherein the lower end of the lower leg portion engages or contacts the ground adjacent to the lower ends of the main frame assembly and the carried golf bag. The leg assembly may also be readily moved to a second or folded position wherein the upper and lower leg portions are folded adjacent to each other and generally parallel with the undersurface of the seat member. The upper and lower leg portions include means for latching the leg portions in their first position and means for retaining the leg portions in their second folded position.
When the seat member is moved to its vertical position and the leg is in its folded position, the seat member is adjacent to the carried golf bag and is completely unobstructs the normal usage of the cart. The length of the leg assembly and the distance between the point of attachment between the main frame assembly and seat assembly and the ground is selected so that the seat member, when in use, is positioned at normal chair height above the ground. The comfort and stability of the seat is enhanced by the fact that the lower ground engaging end of the lower leg portion has a length which is substantially equal to the width of the seat member and is disposed so that its longitudinal axis is substantially parallel to the common axis of rotation of the cart wheels.
These and other objects, advantages and features of my present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of my invention, described in connection with the accompanying drawings.